"Right, I'm off to pick up Regina," Emma announced as she shrugged on her red leather jacket.
Her mom smiled broadly. "Drive safely, honey. And hurry home! We're so eager to meet her!"
Emma hesitated on the threshold for a moment. "Yeah, I know, but mom?"
"Yes, sweetie?"
Emma tried to be as delicate as possible as she said: "I know how excited you are to meet her, but do you think you could... Y'know, go a little easy on her when she gets here? She's very nervous. And probably hella tired too."
Her mom huffed a bit. "Of course I'm gonna go easy on her!"
"You know what I mean," Emma said softly. "I know you wanna ger to know her, but please don't bombard her with questions."
"Oh," her mom blushed a little now, and Emma's father flashed Emma a grin. He knew that his wife could be a little prone to ask lots and lots of questions.
"And maybe..." Emma kept hovering on the threshold. "Maybe not ask her about her mom, okay? Her mom is a bit of a... touchy subject, shall we say. Stick for asking about her dad. He adores Regina. And vice-versa."
"We got it," her dad assured and grinned again. "We don't need a manual, honey."
"Sorry," Emma said sheepishly. "I'm just... I really want her to feel welcome here."
"We promise we'll be as charming as ever," her dad quipped.
"Polite," her mom added.
"Curious, but in a sort of demure way," her dad said solemnly.
"Picture perfect in laws."
Emma shook her head at both her mom and dad. "You guys are such dorks, you know that?"
"Of course," her dad snickered. "We created you."
"Okay, I'm going!" Emma said firmly and spun around. But she didn't make it very far into the hallway before peeking back into the kitchen. "And one more thing, guys. Whatever you do, don't stare at her stomach, please."
Her parents nodded. None of them were teasing anymore. They could sense that Emma was serious on this one.
Emma flashed them a quick smile and a "see you later." Then she finally left the house and walked towards the little yellow bug just waiting for her. She felt a flutter of excitement in her belly. Now she was finally gonna go pick up Regina. Regina was finally coming to Storybrooke! Emma had a hard time really believing it, and she was grinning from ear to ear as she entered the bug.
She whistled a silly but nevertheless merry little tune to herself as she embarked on the four hour long drive to Boston Airport. Yeah, it was a long drive, but she didn't mind that even the littlest bit. Because she was on the way to pick up Regina! She interrupted the whistling session and chuckled a bit upon remembering that cute, cute airport selfie Regina had sent her before boarding. She had pretended to have fallen asleep on a bench in the airport, and Emma had laughed loudly when she saw the picture. And she hadn't hesitated to call Regina "a very pretty Sleeping Beauty". That had amused Regina.
But in all seriousness, Emma hoped that Regina would be able to get some sleep on the plane. She had looked pretty tired during their facetime chat, and Emma was a bit worried. Obviously. Worrying about Regina was turning into quite the sport for her. Emma snorted slightly to herself. At least she wouldn't have to worry about Regina for the next two weeks. Because Regina would be right here with her. Exactly how Emma preferred it. She switched on the radio and loudly sang along to Pharrell William's "Happy". What an excellent song! What excellent lyrics. 'Because I'm happy clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth'. Emma couldn't have thought of a better song to describe how she felt right now. Giddy with excitement. Ecstatic, almost. And just a smidge nervous too. She had told Regina a lot about Storybrooke, had almost tried to paint a picture of the town, and she hoped that Regina wouldn't feel underwhelmed when finally visiting the town herself. She came from a huge city with lots of lights and noise, and Storybrooke was so quiet in comparison. Emma hoped she wouldn't be disappointed in what she saw. Emma reached a turnabout and steered in the direction towards Boston and the airport. Long journey, but maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. Regina could maybe take a nap on the way back. Emma hoped she would. The trip from Madrid to Boston was a long one, Emma knew that from experience. The jetlag was tough, and if you were pregnant on top of that... Well, Emma could easily believe that Regina would be absolutely knackered when arriving.
Emma kept finding the happiest songs the radio had to offer, and she happily and loudly sang along to them without paying the littlest attention to how horrible false it sounded. Okay, maybe she could hear it a little, but what the heck. She was a photographer, not a singer. Speaking of photography, she hoped that Regina's visit in Storybrooke would come with lots of opportunities for photography. Emma needed plenty of pictures of Regina for the photo album she was in the process of creating.
A car swerved out in front of Emma, and Emma cursed loudly at the driver. Why couldn't people pay a little attention when they were driving? Surely, that wasn't so difficult, right?
But only a moment later it was Emma's turn to be honked at because she had been busy thinking about Regina instead of actually driving when the light turned green. Ooops.
"Sorry, I'm sorry," Emma called sheepishly even though there was no way the driver behind her had no chance of hearing her. She was just grateful that her dad The Policeman hadn't been here to witness her blunder. He was a terrible "backseat driver" and constantly reprimanded Emma and gave her "advices" on driving. Which was pretty annoying because Emma wasn't THAT bad of a driver. Neal had been worse. Seriously, he had constantly swerved out in front of other cars and cut corners. It had reached a point where Emma had almost become terrified at driving with him. And so had her dad. He had once revealed to Emma that he hoped to meet Neal in traffic while on duty so he could serve him a ticket for being such a rotten driver. Emma chuckled a little to herself. At least her dear old dad was quite safe in that regard when it came to Regina. She was an excellent driver who didn't take any risks on the road. Sure, she could yell a bit in Spanish, but she was a good driver.
Emma was absentmindedly humming to herself when she noted the soft pitter-patter of rain on the window. She immediately felt disappointed in the weather. It was Regina's first time visiting here, and it was fucking raining! Emma had hoped for a clear blue sky and sunshine, but instead she could see nothing but gray clouds and drops of rain. Typical Maine weather. She hoped Regina wouldn't find it too cold and terrible. That would be awful.
Another car behind Emma honked and then overtook her, and Emma immediately took the opportunity to yell: "are you kidding me?! What is wrong with people?! Did you get your driver's license in an automat or what? Mierda!" She snickered. Hanging out with Regina was clearly rubbing off on her. Perhaps she would end up becoming a first class Spanish speaker someday. Or maybe not, but hey, she was allowed to be a little optimistic, right?
She turned up the volume on another ditzy song and felt strangely like some sort of silly Disney princess when she caught herself singing along. That was definitely less tuneful than what she could have hoped for. Don't quit your daytime job, Swan.
She switched over to humming instead. One couldn't go wrong with humming. At least not her. The radio crackled a bit, and Emma gave it a little love tap and reminded herself to have it checked out. She couldn't risk being without a radio in the car. That would be terrible. Emma loved music while driving. She loved opening her window and pretending that she a lone stranger on a roadtrip. Maybe it was a bit silly, but it was definitely very fun too. Emma considered it. Roadtrip. It could be really fun taking a roadtrip with Regina sometimes. Emma would have to remember to ask her about that when she saw her. It wouldn't be long now...
Soon she found herself standing in Boston Airport, impatiently waiting and stretching her neck in an attempt to try and spot Regina when she came through security. She probably looked like an idiot as she stood there and stretched her neck like a giraffe, but she couldn't help it. She could see on the board that Regina's plane had landed as expected. It shouldn't be long before she would walk through those big doors. Emma physically had to stop herself from jumping up and down like some lunatic. She was literally so excited her palms were sweating, and her heart was thrumming in her chest. She was about to see Regina again, finally. God, it had been so many weeks since they had seen each other! Too long! Emma refused to allow it to be that long the next time. Maybe she would just have to move to Madrid. Emma chuckled to herself. Move to Spain. Ha. She could vividly imagine the look on her mom's face if she told her that.
Emma's phone chimed, and she couldn't help but smile when checking the message. It was Ruby, asking if she had "found" Regina yet. Emma texted back that she was in the airport and waiting for Regina to show up. Ruby then teasingly asked if Emma was impatient. Emma texted back "hell yes!" and didn't even feel embarrassed about it. Because she was. Pretty fucking impatient.
She craned her neck again and accidentally made eye contact with a guy coming through the doors. Ooops. Time to be less obvious.
Emma liked the airport. It was so cozy with all the people standing there and waiting for their loved ones to come through the doors. Some of them were waving flags, and the children were jumping up and down in anticipation. Emma chuckled lightly to herself. A pity you couldn't jump up and down if you were an adult. A pity that wasn't a social acceptable thing to do. Her phone chimed again. This time it was Belle who texted her and asked if she had found Regina. Emma texted back that she was still waiting for her. And being impatient about it. Belle found that to be pretty funny. But Emma didn't. She shifted her weight from one leg to the other and felt the muscles in her neck protest slightly. She could see that people were really starting to walk through the large doors now. She saw a mom smiling at two little boys who had a hard time staying behind the security line. She saw a young man with sun-kissed skin and a backpack slung over his shoulder. Looks like he had been out on an adventure, Emma thought to herself as she watched him smile at an older man and women. Home to reunite with his parents it would seem. Emma smiled. That was nice. But where was Regina? That was the question. Emma couldn't see her amongst the people streaming through the doors, and for a second she got worried, but then she reminded herself that Regina obviously would have texted her if the flight had been delayed. Emma just had to be patient a little longer. She would show up. Of course she would. She shifted again and felt tempted to burst through the security line to go find Regina.
But fortunately enough, such drastic methods wasn't required after all. Once a flood of important looking men in suits had walked through the doors, Regina appeared. She was wearing a long sleeved flower patterned wrap dress with an unzipped jacket over it. Her hair had been tugged away from her face in a braid, and she looked lovelier than ever. And she was smiling. At Emma. Who suddenly found herself grinning and jumping up and down like an idiot. She probably looked like one, but she didn't care. All she cared about was Regina. She lifted a hand and waved eagerly, almost knocking a lady's hat right off her head. Regina looked highly amused and lifted her free hand so she could return the greeting.
Emma was quite literally skipping up and down as Regina made her way through the crowd with her suitcase trailing behind her. After something that felt like forever, she was finally within Emma's reach, and the young brunette smiled beamingly once again. "Hola que- Oh!"
That was about all she managed before she was interrupted by Emma who pretty much grabbed her and pulled her into her arms. Emma wasn't even thinking about it when she winded her arms underneath Regina's bottom and lifted her, so her feet were dangling a few inches above the floor. Her suitcase landed on the floor with a slight bang. Emma didn't care about that either. Her brain seemed to have completely shut off as she spun Regina around.
Regina giggled and made half-hearted protests: "Em-ma! Put me down!"
"Never," Emma assured. A few seconds later she did put her down though. But she didn't let her go. Instead she placed her hands on Regina's shoulder. "Let me have a look at you, honey."
Regina smiled almost shyly and tugged a lock of hair behind her ear. She glanced down at her now significantly more rounded stomach. "As you can see, I've...ripened. Since the last time you saw me. I, uhh-"
Emma didn't let her finish that sentence either. She covered Regina's mouth with her own and kissed her. Kissed away any insecurity Regina might have felt over her changed body.
Regina made this little exhaling sound into the kiss, and her arms winded around Emma's neck. Emma could feel the corners of her mouth twitch as though Regina was smiling into the kiss. The thought of that made Emma hold even more tighter onto Regina.
They didn't stop kissing until a sullen old man coughed loudly and made some sort of stupid remark about this being "a public place!" but even his narrow way of thinking could make Emma's mood turn sour. She playfully brushed her nose against Regina's before pulling away.
"Hi," Regina said softly.
Emma snickered. "Hey, you."
"¿Me extrañaste?" Regina teased.
"Uhm, hell yeah I missed you," Emma almost growled and lifted her hands to pull Regina closer.
But Regina playfully evaded her grabbing hands. "Wait, wait, wait," she teased and put her hands on her hips. "What do you think?"
"Of you? I think you look absolutely-"
"No-no-no," Regina chuckled. "The bump, querida. What do you think about the bump?" she was teasing, but Emma could still hear some insecurity behind the question.
Emma took a step back to take in the image of Regina as she stood there in her flower patterned wrap dress. Her belly was definitely more prominent and rounded now. And the sight of it filled Emma was an infinite amount of tenderness. "You look so cute," she told Regina. Even though that was an understatement. Regina looked more than cute. She looked amazingly beautiful.
"Yeah?" Regina said.
"Yeah," Emma assured and snatched her suitcase before she could protest. "Are you ready to go?"
"Sí, I am," Regina confirmed and brushed a hand over her dress. "Is this dress appropriate for meeting your parents? I was actually wearing a band t-shirt, but then I remembered-"
"Regina," Emma interrupted with a soft chuckle. "You look perfect, okay? But just for the record, my parents wouldn't care if you wore a band t-shirt."
"Okay," Regina said sheepishly. "I'm sorry. I'm nervous."
"That's okay," Emma said softly and took Regina's hand so she could give it a little squeeze. "But my parents will adore you. I know they will."
Regina smiled meekly and grabbed for her suitcase.
"Nope," Emma said simply and moved the suitcase away from Regina's grasp. "You're not carrying it."
"I'm not?"
"No, I am. Obviously," Emma said lightly. "Come on, beautiful girl. Let's get going."
"In a moment," Regina said. "I have to go and buy flowers for your mother first." And before Emma could stop her, she had disappeared into one of the stores in the airport that just so happened to sell flowers. Emma chuckled as she followed.
"I have to go to a pharmacy tomorrow," Regina said when they were sitting in the car (Regina had been fawning over Emma's yellow bug).
"Alright," Emma said and tried to sound relaxed and definitely-not-worried. "Everything okay?"
"Sí," Regina was quick to assure. "I just forgot my prenatal vitamins at home," she rolled her eyes. "Of course I did. There's always something. I left them standing on the kitchen table instead of stuffing them into my suitcase."
"Oh," Emma chuckled. "We'll just go to the pharmacy tomorrow. That's no problem at all."
"I can't believe I forgot them," Regina said and clicked her tongue. "I must be suffering from an early case of pregnancy brain or something like that."
Emma laughed. "Is that even a thing?"
"I don't know. It is now," Regina said and leaned back in her seat.
"You tired? You can take a nap," Emma immediately suggested.
Regina raised an eyebrow. "And miss out on the time I have with you? No thank you. I can sleep later."
"Seriously, you must be tired from that long trip," Emma said, jutting out her bottom lip just a little.
"I'll be fine," Regina chuckled and reached out so she could take Emma's hand. "I've really missed you, querida."
"I've missed you too," Emma said immediately. "So. Fucking. Much."
Regina chuckled once more. "That much, huh?"
"Oh yeah," Emma assured, chuckling too. She moved a hand away from the wheel and put it on Regina's knee for a moment. "How are you feeling? Nausea very bad?"
"No, it's alright," Regina said. "I'm just a bit nervous about finally meeting your parents and friends."
"I wish there was something I could say to make you less nervous," Emma sighed.
"There isn't," Regina teased. "I shall remain nervous until I've met them and realized it didn't kill me."
Emma chuckled lightly and then asked: "is it warm enough in here? Are you cold?"
"No," Regina said with a slight drawl. "I'm fine, Em-ma."
"Good. But you didn't have to buy flowers, you know," Emma pointed out and glanced at the bouquet in Regina's hands. Yellow tulips. Emma's mother's favorites.
"Of course I did," Regina said in a "don't be stupid"-manner. "It's the least I can do."
Emma chuckled. "You are so sweet."
"Yes, so I've been told," Regina drawled.
"Oh yeah? By who?" Emma asked and lifted an eyebrow.
"My dad," Regina said and positively laughed.
"Oh. Phew. You almost made me nervous there," Emma teased.
"Don't you worry," Regina said as she leaned back in the passenger's seat. "Did I mention how much I adore your car?"
"Yeah, I think you might have," Emma chuckled.
"!Es maravilloso!
High praise right there. Emma smiled. Neal hadn't liked her car. He had preferred to drive around in the big Roll's Royce his father had bestowed upon him for his eighteenth birthday. He had considered Emma's car to be some sort of abomination that shouldn't be allowed on the road, and on those rare occasions where he'd had no choice but to ride in it, he had complained from start to finish over just about anything. The brakes, the seats and the smell. Which was absolute bull because Emma's car did NOT smell. Only after Neal had been in it. Because of the cologne he always drowned himself in.
Emma's train of thoughts were interrupted when Regina started to rummage around in the little purse, she also had with her. She muttered a bit under her breath as she brought out a can of...
"Cream soda?" Emma asked and smiled a little.
"Mhmm," Regina confirmed as she cranked the can open and took a gulp. "It might have lost its fizz on the plane ride, but it's definitely not bad." She took another deep gulp.
"Is that...a craving?" Emma asked softly.
Regina scrunched up her nose in that adorable fashion she so often did. "I think it might be."
"Oh. Well, it's a good thing Granny's are all stocked up on cream soda then," Emma smiled.
Regina sighed a little. "Yesterday I suddenly wanted strawberry cake. Strawberry. I never eat strawberry!"
"Well, you can have that too," Emma laughed. "You can have whatever you want."
"Oh, by the way, Sofía and Alessandra will call me tomorrow," Regina told her. "Just to confirm that I arrived safe and soundly."
"That's very responsible of them," Emma praised.
"And obviously, my dad sends his love," Regina continued, now smiling. "Lots of it."
"Aww," Emma cooed. "How cute is he?"
Regina snickered. "He really liked you, querida."
"The feeling was mutual," Emma said and smiled as they reached another turnabout.
Regina yawned and closed her eyes. Only for a moment, she assured, but it didn't take long before she fell asleep, and Emma? Well, she fell even more in love...
It broke Emma's heart a little, having to wake up Regina when they made it to their destination, but she couldn't very well sleep in the car. Emma gently put a hand on Regina's arm. "Honey?"
Regina made some sort of "hrmph" sound in her sleep.
Emma tried not to laugh. "Sweetheart, we're here."
"Que?" Regina opened her eyes and clearly did her best to focus in the darkness.
"Hi, sleeping beauty," Emma said with a soft chuckle. "We're here."
"And I slept all the way," Regina said and stuck out her bottom lip. "My goodness."
"It's alright," Emma assured. "You needed some rest. And it's late in Spain."
Regina nodded and looked like she was trying to suffocate a yawn.
"We'll go to bed as soon as possible," Emma promised her. "You need your rest."
"Sí, I do. Otherwise I'll have no energy to explore Storybrooke tomorrow," Regina half-chuckled.
"Exactly," Emma said and gave Regina's knee a little squeeze. "My dad has gone to bed, he's not much of a night owl, but my mom will definitely be up. She never goes to bed early. And she likes to wait up for me-" Emma took a moment to roll her eyes at that before continuing: "Are you alright with meeting her tonight?"
"Por supuesto," Regina assured and glanced at herself in the mirror.
"You look wonderful," Emma said immediately.
"Really? Did my mascara run?" Regina used a finger to swipe underneath her eye. "Is my hair a mess?"
"Honey," Emma said gently but firmly. "You look beautiful."
"You're biased," Regina accused, but she was smiling at the same time. She reached out and took a gulp of her cream soda, but immediately made a face and stated: "Warm."
"I'll buy you another," Emma said swiftly. "I'll buy you as many as you like."
"Careful. I might take you up on it," Regina chuckled, glanced at herself one last time in the mirror and then declared: "I'm ready."
"Good. Then lets go and put my dear mother out of her misery," Emma chuckled. "I don't wanna make you nervous, but you have been the reason for some speculation."
"I'm sure I have," Regina said, and her sweet laughter filled the car.
Emma spontaneously leaned in and kissed the corner of her mouth. "I'm so glad you're here."
"Me too," Regina said warmly. "But now we have to get out of here. I don't want to risk your mother seeing us kissing in the car."
Emma laughed heartedly at that. "Then lets get going. I'll carry your suitcase. You just have to carry your purse and the flowers. Which you didn't need to buy."
Regina scoffed. "Of course I did. Don't be silly."
Arguing was useless, so Emma didn't even bother. She simply got out of the car and wrestled Regina's suitcase out of the trunk of the car. By the time she had walked around the Bug, Regina too had gotten out of the car and was standing and looking at the house which were nicely lit by the little lanterns Emma's mother so favored to place all over the porch and garden.
"Do you like it?" Emma asked almost shyly.
"It's such a...big place," Regina said. She sounded timid. "Which shouldn't be such a surprise considering that your mother is the mayor and all, but..."
"She's not mayor-esque," Emma quickly assured and gave Regina's arm a little squeeze with her free hand. "She's completely chill and down to earth."
Regina nodded but didn't seem soothed. "What if she won't like me?" she whispered.
"Okay, that's the worst bull I've ever heard!" Emma scoffed and dumped the suitcase on the ground so she could cup Regina's cheeks. "You listen to me. My mother is going to adore you. She'll take one look at you and immediately sense what a wonderful, sweet person you are, and she'll love you. Just like that. Because that's the kind of person she is. Same goes for my dad."
Regina nodded and gave a smile. Which only appeared to be a little bit forced.
"You wanna head inside with me?" Emma asked softly and grabbed Regina's suitcase again.
"Sí. I can't very well keep standing out here, can I?" Regina lightly quipped.
"That's true," Emma chuckled lightly and slipped her free arm around Regina's waist.
Together they walked up the little pathway that lead to the house, and Emma noted that Regina was biting her lip slightly when they made it to the front door. Emma turned around and checked: "okay?"
"Sí," Regina nodded and tried to sound convincing. "Okay."
"She's going to adore you," Emma almost "warned" as she opened the door and stepped aside so Regina could go into the hall. She followed suit a few seconds later and quietly closed the door behind them. Her dad was asleep upstairs, and it would be a shame to wake him. But the lights were on in the kitchen, and Emma could hear the faint sound of her mom tapping away on the laptop as she so often did during the night. She liked being on top on tomorrow's appointments, as she called it.
"Here, let me take your coat," Emma gallantly offered and noted that the tapping had stopped. Her mom had heard them. And she was probably fighting her every instinct not to rush into the hallway to greet them.
Regina slipped off her coat and handed it to Emma who hung it on the coat rack. When she looked back, Regina was in the middle of smoothening invisible creases on her pretty wrap dress and frowning while she tugged at it in an attempt to make her rounded stomach look smaller.
"Hey," Emma said gently and took Regina's hand, brought it up to her lips and kissed it lightly. "You look amazing."
"Amazingly pregnant," Regina muttered.
"No one cares about that," Emma said firmly. "You look amazing."
Regina flashed a little smile and wiggled her feet slightly to get her shoes off. The gesture left her several inches shorter than Emma, and Emma couldn't help but chuckle slightly. She really liked the difference in height.
Emma slipped off her own jacket and shoes and then they walked into the kitchen hand in hand.
Emma's mother looked up and smiled when she spotted them.
"Hi, mom," Emma grinned. "We're here."
"I can see that," her mother quipped as she stood from the chair with a slight grunt. She came over to them, and Regina immediately flashed her a positively dazzling smile.
"Mom, this is Regina," Emma said and could immediately hear the pride in her voice.
"Hello, Regina," her mom smiled and extended her hand out towards Regina.
"Hol- Hello, Mrs. Swan, it's so nice to finally meet you," Regina said as she shook Mary Margaret's hand once, and Emma immediately noted that Regina sounded a bit different. A bit more... grown-up. Emma realized that she had heard Regina use that voice once before. When talking to her own mother. Emma hoped that Regina soon would realize that it wouldn't be necessary for her to use that voice here.
"It's very nice to meet you too," Mary Margaret beamed. "Emma's told me so much about you."
Regina chuckled once, nervously. "Good things, I hope."
"Nothing but that, dear," Emma's mother assured. "And please, there's no need for you to call me "Mrs. Swan" Mary Margaret will be just fine."
"Mary Margaret," Regina parroted and smiled. "I... I got you some flowers. Emma said that yellow tulips is your favorite."
"Oh, that was so sweet of you!" Mary Margaret gushed as she accepted the bouquet of flowers from Regina. "They're lovely, but really, you shouldn't have, Regina!"
"I wanted to," Regina said shyly. "As a thank you for letting me stay in your home."
Emma's mother smiled beamingly at Regina, and Emma grinned too because she knew that Regina had successfully just won Mary Margaret's heart.
Mary Margaret was quick to conjure a vase for the yellow tulips, and while she put them in water, she couldn't stop gushing about how lovely they were and how sweet it was of Regina to bring her flowers. Regina happily insisted that it was nothing and was more than willing to answer questions about how her flight from Madrid had been, and Emma thought to herself that this was going exactly like she had predicted. Her mother already adored Regina.
With the formalities done with, Mary Margaret instantly begun fawning: "what a pretty dress you're wearing! And your hair is so lovely, I don't think I've ever seen such a nice French braid before."
Regina blushed. "Thank you."
Mary Margaret glanced at Emma and teased: "You should let Regina give you some hair tips once in a while, honey."
Emma laughed. "Noted."
Regina looked around in the kitchen, clearly in some sort of silent awe. Emma gave her hand a little squeeze. "I'll give you a full tour of the house tomorrow."
And a tour of Storybrooke," Mary Margaret interjected and smiled. "There are so many nice places here."
"I'll look forward to seeing those," Regina said.
"You must be tired after that long journey," Mary Margaret said, fawning once more.
"It's not that bad," Regina lied and smiled again.
Emma slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. "It's okay to be tired. As my mom said, you've had a long trip. Don't worry, you'll get plenty of time to see all of Storybrooke tomorrow."
"That sounds nice," Regina said and glanced at Emma. "Would you mind pointing me in the direction of the bathroom? I think I had too much cream soda."
Emma chuckled. "Of course. Upstairs and to your left."
"Thank you," Regina said and flashed Mary Margaret another dazzling smile. "It was very nice to meet you"
"You too, Regina," Mary Margaret said, returning the young brunette's smile tenfold.
Emma watched as Regina walked up the stairs and disappeared around the corner. As soon as she was out of earshot, her mom exclaimed: "Emma, she's lovely! So sweet and polite."
"And nervous," Emma half-chuckled. "Thanks for not asking her a million questions."
"Like I would do that," her mom huffed. "I could tell that she was nervous."
"Are you gonna go to bed now that you know we're home safe and sound?" Emma warmly teased her mom.
She huffed and pretended to swat Emma. "I was thinking that your father and I will be going out for dinner tomorrow night so you and Regina can-"
"Mom, if you finish that sentence our relationship will never be the same," Emma warned and made a face.
"Get the chance to catch up," her mom said unbothered. "You'll have the house to yourselves. Cook her a nice meal and light some candles."
"Mom, are you giving me dating advices?" Emma asked, torn between laughing and feeling horrified.
"No, of course not. I just figured it would be nice," her mom huffed.
"It would be," Emma agreed.
"Hold on to her," her mom continued. "She's wonderful."
"That she is." now Emma was beaming.
Her mom patted her cheek. "I'm very happy for you. And I think I'll be going to bed now."
"Sensible," Emma praised. "I think I'll call it a night too."
"Goodnight, honey."
"Goodnight mom. Don't bring your laptop into the bedroom. You'll wake dad."
"Nothing can wake your dad when he's asleep," her mom said almost darkly. "Not even an explosion..."
"You are probably right about that," Emma nodded and swallowed back a grin. Her dear old dad was definitely a heavy sleeper. There had been a time where an alarm had been blaring right next to him, and he had kept sleeping. While the rest of the house had woken up in a frenzy because it sounded like the fire alarm going off.
Emma wished her mom a goodnight one more time and then she grabbed Regina's suitcase and went up the stairs. She brought the suitcase into the bedroom and then chuckled slightly to herself upon looking at the makeshift bed her mom so lovingly had installed in the bedroom. The makeshift bed was placed at least ten inches from Emma's bed, and Emma had to swallow back a grin as she began the process of shoving the makeshift bed closer to her own.
"What are you doing?" Regina asked sleepily upon entering the bedroom. She was carrying a little plastic bag and she smelled faintly of toothpaste.
"I'm laughing a little at my parents," Emma said quietly and gave a slight grunt as she pushed the bed again. "They seem to think that ye olde teenage rules still applies just because I moved back temporarily."
"Oh," Regina chuckled quietly. "I see."
"Yeah, the bed is a little too far away for my taste," Emma said and gave the makeshift bed an almighty shove that made it clatter as it collided with her own. "Woops. There we go. Welcome to my room."
"Thank you," Regina said warmly. "It's very nice. And that bed looks very comfortable."
"It better be. Because I'm planning on sleeping there," Emma snickered.
Regina momentarily paused in the middle of unzipping her suitcase. "Huh?"
"Honey, I'm not planning on letting you sleep in the makeshift bed while you're here. Nu-uh. You'll sleep in my bed."
"I can sleep in the makeshift bed," Regina said quickly. "It's not a problem at all."
"It's a problem for me," Emma said plainly. "You're my guest. And I want your stay here to be as comfortable as the one I had in Spain was."
"Eres dulce," Regina said softly.
"Thanks, I'm trying my best," Emma snickered. "I'll have you know that my mom found you pretty damn dulce too."
"She did? I'm afraid it was a little rude of me to take off just like that, but that cream soda..." Regina wrinkled her nose. "My bladder wasn't happy."
"She adores you," Emma assured. "She completely rambled about how sweet and polite you were."
Regina smiled beamingly. "I'm glad to hear that."
"See, you had absolutely nothing to worry about. Like I told you," Emma pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah, you're so smart, querida," Regina said as she rose from her crouching position on the floor with a pajamas in her hand.
"I had no idea you owned a pajamas," Emma said and thought fondly of those tiny little shorts and tops Regina had paraded around in in Spain.
"I do now. Look, they're stretchy and everything," Regina said somewhat sardonically as she stretched the waistband on the pajama pants for emphasis. "All my clothes are now a days..."
"Well, that's a good thing. We can't have you being uncomfortable," Emma said simply.
Regina made a slight humming sound as she tugged at the string in her wrap dress. Probably not meant to be a "striptease" of any kind, but that didn't stop Emma from sitting down on the edge of the makeshift bed and enjoy the sight of Regina taking off her dress.
"What are you looking at?" Regina challenged with another slight humming sound.
"You. I've missed you."
"I've missed you too but let's let it stay with that. Your parents are here."
"I promise I shan't lay a hand on Milady unless we're alone," Emma said goofily, knowing full well that it was a terrible joke.
Regina laughed, bless her, and shook her head ever so slightly as she took off her dress. Emma tried to remember that this was her parents house and they weren't alone, but man it was hard when Regina stood there in her pretty stockings and bra only. Emma cleared her throat and tried to look anywhere but at Regina's significantly larger chest. But it wasn't just Regina's chest that had changed. Her waistline had also expanded. Emma smiled. Regina looked beautiful. And ridiculously tempting while bending over to remove her stockings. Jesus. Emma noted that she hadn't seen Regina wear a pair of nylon stockings before, but she definitely appreciated it. Exactly as much as she appreciated the sight of Regina's bare, golden colored legs coming into view.
"Are you not gonna get ready for bed?" Regina asked as she slipped the stockings off the rest of the way and then cursed under her breath. "Mierda. I ripped them!"
"I'm sure I have some you can borrow if you need to," Emma half-chuckled and made a not-very-good attempt at slipping her t-shirt over her head. Watching Regina was just so fascinating.
"Well, I definitely can't wear these anymore," Regina said dully and shook her head as she reached back and unclasped her bra.
"Oh my god," Emma said plainly.
"Huh?" Regina turned her head. "Is something wrong?"
"Nope, you're just-" Emma cleared her throat. "Taking off your clothes."
Regina chuckled. "That is what people do when they're going to bed, Em-ma."
"Oh, very clever," Emma huffed as she hauled her shirt off and wandered over to the closet to find something appropriate to sleep in. This 'something' ended up being a pair of checkered pajama bottoms.
Regina took one glance at Emma's choice of sleepwear and abandoned the nice blue pajamas in favor of something oh, so familiar. Emma's grey tanktop. The one she had "borrowed" from Emma.
"Aww," Emma fawned. "Is that what you're sleeping in?"
"It's what I'm always sleeping," Regina said plainly, dumped her bra into the open suitcase and slipped the tanktop over her head.
Emma looked at her belly. She couldn't help it. Regina's stomach was so pronounced now. So rounded. Not just a "pouch" now, but definitely an indicator of the baby growing inside her.
Regina succeeded in smoothening the tanktop over her belly and then looked up and caught Emma in staring at her stomach.
Emma quickly looked down. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I wasn't trying to-"
"No, it's alright," Regina said softly. She reached back and loosened the French braid. Her hair tumbled down her shoulders in loose curls and she smiled as she came over to Emma who was still sitting on the edge of the bed. The smile never left her face as she grasped one of Emma's hands and placed it on her rounded belly. "There won't be any kicking yet, but do you think it feels any different?"
"I'm not sure," Emma murmured as she adjusted her palm slightly on Regina's stomach. "But I like it."
"I'm getting fat," Regina chuckled.
"You're getting bigger," Emma agreed. "But that's what supposed to happen. Remember that." As she spoke, she moved her hands from Regina's belly and to her hips to draw the younger woman onto her lap.
"Ay no, querida," Regina chuckled. "No funny business while your parents are here. You promised."
"I'm not trying to do funny business with you," Emma denied. "I'm just trying to get you to sit on my lap."
"And since when is that not funny business?" Regina asked and sounded all scolding despite the fact that she was already positioning herself on Emma's lap.
"I'm not gonna do anything," Emma promised. "Well, except for this..." without any further ado, she let herself fall backwards onto the bed, so Regina landed on of her.
"Nosotras no vamos a tener sexo en este momento," Regina chuckled.
"What does that mean?"
"It means-" Regina elegantly rolled off Emma and tapped her collarbone with each word: "we're-not-going-to-have-sex-right-now."
Emma chuckled too and leaned in to kiss the tip of Regina's nose. "I know. That isn't what I'm after, beautiful girl."
"No?" Regina teased. "Then, what are you after?"
"Don't move," Emma mock-warned as she quickly stood from the bed. "I'll be right back."
Before Regina could answer, Emma sprinted into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and hair, tied it back in a braid and then completed the rest of her nightly routine. To her delight, Regina hadn't moved an inch nor fallen asleep when she returned to the bedroom.
"That was quick," Regina observed without taking her eyes off her right foot which she for some reason had lifted high in the air.
"I'm glad my speed impresses the lady," Emma quipped and scratched the back of her neck, thoroughly distracted over seeing so much leg on display. "What, uhh...What are you doing?"
"Looking for swollen ankles," Regina quipped. "So far, I haven't found any, though. She lowered her leg again and glanced at Emma. "So? Are you gonna tell me about the thing you're after now?"
"In a second," Emma promised as she finally tugged her jeans off and t-shirt off.
"Oh Dios mio," Regina said simply. "Your body is not for the faint hearted, querida."
"Is that a good thing?" Emma chuckled over her shoulder as she unsnapped her bra.
"Sí. Your abs is giving me heart palpitations. And your arms..." Regina almost groaned.
"I really need my own place," Emma said simply and left the clothes to die on the floor instead of actually putting it back in the closet. She walked over and laid down in the makeshift bed. "Come here," she said softly and patted the very edge of the mattress on her bed.
Regina snickered lightly as she inched closer, so it almost felt like they were lying in the same bed. "Oh, so that's what you were after."
"It was," Emma confirmed with a grin.
A little sigh escaped Regina. "This is nice."
"Very," Emma agreed and cupped Regina's cheek. "You wanna head over to Granny's and have breakfast tomorrow?"
"Sí, I'd like that very much," Regina smiled. "You've talked so much about it."
"It's a date then," Emma chuckled.
"It definitely is. Goodnight, querida."
"Goodnight. I'm really glad that you're here tomorrow too."
"Me, too," Regina yawned. After a moment she went quiet, and Emma heard her breath even out and become slow and steady. She smiled in the darkness and closed her eyes. It wouldn't be long before she too was asleep...
Emma was surprised to be awakened by Regina the next morning. She cracked one eye open and looked at blurry silhouette that was Regina. "Mmm, am I dreaming, or are you up earlier than me?"
"Jetlag," Regina said simply. "Are you gonna wake up so you can show me around town?"
"Alright, alright, I'm coming," Emma laughed as she opened her eyes fully and looked at Regina. Not only was she up, but she was also dressed, and her hair was wet.
"Did you shower?" Emma asked dumbly.
"I did," Regina chuckled and took another bite of a cracker.
"Where did you get that cracker?" Emma asked even more dumbly as she sat up in bed and scratched her scalp.
"Your mom thought I looked hungry and was sweet enough to give me a couple," Regina smiled. "They're very good."
"Wait... Were you in the kitchen?" Emma asked. God, she was being dumb on this particular morning!
"I was," Regina confirmed. "And I met your father."
"You did? Without me?!"
"Well, you weren't exactly awake," Regina teased. "But don't worry, querida. He was very nice."
"Oh." Emma forced her unwilling body out of bed. "Right, I'll just go and take a shower."
"Good idea. I'm not planning on going anywhere," Regina said amusedly as she plopped down on the bed and smoothened a hand over the long sleeved red dress she was wearing today. So simple, yet so Regina.
"You look very pretty," Emma told her as she reached within the closet to find some clothes.
"This old thing?" Regina snickered. "Now hurry up!"
"Yes, Milady..."
Twenty minutes later, Emma and Regina were walking down the street towards Granny's Diner. Emma pointed out all the little stores to Regina, and Regina seemed to genuinely like what she saw. She called the town "wonderful" and "charming" and stated that she never wanted to go home.
Emma didn't want her to go home either. She gave Regina's hand a little squeeze. "There's the pharmacy. You wanna go in there while we remember it?"
"Might be a good idea," Regina nodded.
So they went to the pharmacy and Regina got herself a new bottle of prenatal vitamins. Once that was taken care of, they continued towards Granny's Diner.
"And there's the Diner," Emma said quite unnecessarily and smiled. She had just spotted Ruby in there. Who could easily represent a giraffe in the way she was stretching her neck to get a good look at Regina.
"You wanna have some breakfast?" Emma asked, and Regina's eyes positively shone as she nodded and stated how hungry she was.
They went inside Granny's Diner which was still sort of abandoned due to the early hour. The only two people there were Ruby and Belle. Ruby had an early shift, and Belle had always enjoyed coming over for an early cup of coffee and read for a while. Both of them looked up when Emma and Regina came in.
"Good morning, Em," Ruby greeted. "Bright and early. I don't think I've ever seen you come in this early, to be honest."
"That's my fault," Regina piped up. "Jetlag."
Emma snickered as she gave Regina's hand a little squeeze. "Guys, this is Regina. Regina, these are my friends, Ruby and Belle."
"Hola," Regina smiled shyly. "It's nice to meet you."
"It's very nice to meet you too," Belle smiled as she came over to them. She shook Regina's hand once.
"You exist," Ruby joked as she did the same. "I was beginning to think that Emma had made you up. She kept talking about 'the perfect woman'..."
"Ruby!" Emma barked.
Regina tilted her head at Emma. "'The perfect woman', querida?"
"Yeah, I... might have said that once or twice," Emma admitted and felt herself blushing. "Anyway, do you wanna sit down?"
"Yes," Regina snickered. "I'd like that very much."
They settled down by a table and Ruby eagerly asked Regina what she wanted for breakfast whilst insisting that it was on the house.
"Sweet," Emma laughed. "Give us a full brunch then."
"Emma!" Regina protested.
"What? I'm hungry," Emma chuckled.
"One full brunch for the happy couple coming up," Ruby said with a grin. "Anything else? Tea or cocoa?"
"Cocoa," Emma said immediately and looked at Regina. "What about you, sweetheart? What do you want to drink?"
"Cream soda?" Regina asked hopefully.
"Sure," Emma said and gave her a squeeze.
"One cream soda for the lady," Ruby confirmed and excused herself to the kitchen so she could prepare their food.
In the meantime, Belle had abandoned her book in favor of conversation. "So, Regina, Emma tells us you're a dancer?"
"Sí, i am," Regina nodded. "At least I am when I'm not, uhh, pregnant. I've danced since I was a little girl."
"Yes, Emma told us that," Belle smiled. "And she showed us the video of you dancing."
"She did, did she?" Regina said and raised an eyebrow at Emma.
"You were good!" Emma defended.
"Not my best performance," Regina stated plainly.
"That is so not true!"
"Ruby and I thought you were brilliant," Belle interrupted their friendly banter. "I've never seen anyone being able to move their feet like that before. It was very impressive."
Regina blushed prettily. "Thank you, Belle." She stretched her neck and glanced at the book Belle was reading. "That is a good one."
"You've read it?" Belle asked delighted.
"I have," Regina nodded. "And I think Lady Susan is very underrated."
"It is!" Belle said excited. "That's exactly how I feel!"
Emma grinned. Seems like Regina had won Belle's heart as well. Surprise, surprise.
The breakfast was amazing. And not just because the brunch was awesome, and Regina looked adorable every time she sipped her cream soda (and boy did she look cute!) but because Emma finally had introduced Regina to her friends. Because they were all here together and because Regina wouldn't be going home until in two weeks. Emma relished in seeing Regina interact with Ruby and Belle and completely charming them with her slight Spanish accent and infectious laughter. Everything she did, everything she said made Emma fall a little more in love with her.
Ruby gave the blonde a nudge. "Stop staring at your girl and eat your breakfast, Swan."
"But looking at my girl is so much better," Emma stated.
This made Regina turn her head and giggle slightly. "Eres linda, querida. Muy, muy linda. But I do think you should eat your breakfast, though. Your bacon is getting cold. And there's a chance I'll eat it if you don't."
"I'll share it with you if you're still hungry," Emma immediately offered.
Ruby mock gasped. "Who are you, and what have you done with Emma Swan?! You never share your bacon with anyone!"
"Shut up," Emma laughed. "Regina's the exception."
Ruby gasped again and winked at Regina. "You've changed her."
"For the better," Belle added with a grin.
"You guys suck," Emma stated plainly.
"But you love us anyway," Ruby said just as plainly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Emma mock grumbled.
Regina giggled again and took another sip of her cream soda. Once again looking entirely too beautiful for words.
Not many things could ruin Emma's wonderful mood on this glorious morning. So very few things could categorize as being disastrous right now. But when she heard the bell chime and saw an all too familiar figure step into the diner, she could feel her good mood go down the drain.
"Damnit," she muttered.
"Is something wrong?" Regina asked and sat her soda down.
"My ex just walked in," the blonde whispered and glanced discreetly at Neal.
"Oh," Regina raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, don't worry," Emma said quickly, slipping an arm around her. "We're having breakfast, right? Just ignore him. He's just here to have coffee."
"Emma," Belle whispered and put a hand on the blonde's arm.
Emma looked up and was less than pleased to find Neal standing in the middle of the diner and staring at Regina. He looked livid, but the way he looked held nothing against how Emma was feeling. She returned the glare and asked loudly: "is there some sort of problem?"
Neal didn't answer. He just kept staring at them.
Emma balled her hands into fists and flashed Regina a reassuring smile before standing from her chair and walking over to Neal. If her ex had some sort of problem, he would have to say it to her face instead of staring at them like an idiot...
To Be Continued...
